L.A. Street Racing Sting Operation Leads to 44 Arrests

Earlier today, Los Angeles law enforcement agencies initiated a street racing sting operation in South L.A. that led to 44 arrests and hundreds of people being cited. At least 54 cars were towed during the crackdown.

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According to KTLA 5 News, it all went down in the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood around midnight and involved about 100 officers from the California Highway Patrol and the Hawthorne and Inglewood police departments.

The officers successfully boxed in the street racing participants and arrested people with arrest warrants, suspended licenses, and drug-related offenses, as well as unlicensed drivers. At least 209 people were cited, including drivers and spectators.

“The pedestrians that are on the sidewalks are just as much in danger as those driving and the passengers inside the cars,” Lt. Jodi Hutak of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told KTLA 5 News.

This crackdown comes months after a high-profile fatal street racing incident in L.A where a car crashed into a group of spectators, killing two. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged two people with murder, including Isreal Valenzuela, who previously appeared on the street-racing show, “Street Outlaws.” Procecutors don’t believe Valenzuela was driving, though his role in organizing the event was enough to bring charges against him.